Elevator conveyor



Dec. 11, 1956 E. H. SCHMIDTKE 2,7?3586 ELEVATOR CONVEYOR Filed Aug. 5, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet l 1 Zhwentor EDWARD H. $CHMIDTKE CMXAW (Ittomeg -1 1955 E. H. SCHMHDTKE ELEVATOR CONVEYOR 2 $heets-$heet 2 Filed Aug. 3, 1953 3m entor EDWARD H. S.CHM|DTKE (Ittomeg ELEVATOR CONVEYOR Edward H. Schmidtke, Marble Rock, Iowa Application August 3, 1953, Serial No. 371,984 1 Claim. (Cl. 198-233) This invention relates to conveyors and more particularly to conveyor type unloader devices or elevators for elevating grain or other material into a vehicle for transportation or into a building.

In elevator type conveyors made according to previous designs and with which I am familiar, the elevators were very cumbersome in design. Some of the elevators of previous design were adapted to be inclined at an angle to conformto the slope of a building roof and the conveying mechanism was made up of a slat connected between two continuous chains. Other types of elevators and unloaders were built inside of granaries or grain bins and were disposed vertically. This type of elevator was not portable and could not be moved from one building or job to another. Elevators which were fmade portable usually had to be dismantled to' some degree for transportation. Further difficulty was encountered in collapsing previous elevators for transportation. Also, elevators made according to previous design were diflicult to move laterally along the side of a building into which they were discharging. 1 i v I It is, accordingly, an object/of my invention to overcome the above and other defects in previous types of grain elevators and conveyors by providing a portable elevator which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, andefiicient and convenient in operation.

United States Patent '0 .Another object of my invention is to provide anovel type of grain elevator wherein the upper extension thereof can be very conveniently collapsed for transportation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel type of grain elevator wherein the entire elevator assembly is conveniently mounted on a single axle.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel support for an elevator wherein the hubs carrying the wheels pivot at the end of the axles.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the appended claim, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of an elevator according to my invention wherein the highest parts thereof are in operative position;

Fig. 2 is a side view of an elevator according to my invention having the parts thereof collapsed for transportation;

Fig. 3 is a detailed top view of the means for connecting a wheel to my elevator; and

Fig. 4 is an end view of the wheel shown in Fig. 3.

Now with more specific reference to the drawings, I

show an elevator type conveyor 1 mounted on the wheels 2. The elevator has a main channel 3, preferably made of sheet steel, having a reinforced edge 4, sides 5, and

2,773,586 I 'atented Dec. 11, 1956 bottom 6. The main channel 3 is made up of an upper section 7 and a lower section 8 pivotally connected together at 9. The lower section 8 is supported on the frame made up principally of angle irons 10 and 11 which are mounted to the axle 12 by means of welding or other fastening means.

The wheels 2 are supported on the axles 12 by means of hubs 126 which have upwardly extending king bolts 121 pivoted in holes 122 in the axles 12. The axles 12 rest on hub at 123. A lever. 124 is attached to the king bolt 121 at and has a hole 126a in the other end thereof. A bolt 127 extends into a hole 128 in the axle 12 to hold the wheel 2 in the position shown in Fig. 3 during normal operation.

The link 129 is welded to the axle 12 by bolt 126 and is swingable thereon.

When it is desired to move the elevator along the side of a building, granary, or corncrib during the unloading of grain thereinto, the bolt 126 is removed and the wheels 2 are swung to the dotted line position shown in Fig.3. The elevator can then be moved sidewise along the side of the building to relocate the elevator for further unloading operations.

The angles 10 and 11 may be welded together at 13 and the upper end 14 of angle 10 is bolted to the lever 15 at 16. The lever 15 is welded to the lower section 8 at 17 and has the plate 18 welded thereto at 19. A second lever 20 is welded or bolted to the upper section 7 at 21 and is pivoted at 9 to plate 18 by means of a bolt 22 which extends through a hole in the lever 20 and a corresponding hole in the plate 18. A plate 24 is welded to the lever 20 at 25 and extends downwardly at 26 over the lever 15 and a hole 27 is provided in the end 26 which engages a detent 28 on the lever 15.

The angularly disposed brace 30 is welded to the lower section 8 at 31 and to the lever 15 at 32. A roller 34 is pivotally mounted on the lever 15 at 35. A similar roller 36 is pivotally mounted on the lever 20 at 37. An L-shaped bracket 38 is preferably welded to the lower section 8 at 39 and carries the roller 40 on the end 41 and a winch 42 is mountedon the end 43 of thebracket 38. The winch '42 is made up of a drum 44 driven by a gear 45 and a spur gear 46 meshing with the gear 45. The spur gear 46 is mounted on an axle 47 and is operated by a crank 48. The chain 49 extends around the roller 34 and the roller 36 and terminates in the hook 50 which is adapted to engage a lug 51 on the lever 15.

If the crank 48 is rotated to unwind the chain 49 from the drum 44, the overhanging weight of the upper channel 7 will force the upper channel 7 to pivot around the pivot point 9 and the member 24 will be released from the detent 28 and the upper channel 7 will assume the position shown in Fig. 2. When the crank 48 is rotated to wind the chain 49 on the drum 44, the chain 49 will react on the roller 36 as a movable pulley supported between the lugs 51 and the roller 34 and the lever 20 will be pulled toward the lever 15 and the upper channel 7 will be rotated to the point shown in Fig. 1.

The hopper 53 is pivotally mounted on the axle or shaft 54 and, in operative position, is disposed as shown in Fig. 1. When it is desired to collapse the elevator for transportation, the upper channel 7 will be moved to the position shown in Fig. 2 as described above. The hook 50 will be unhooked therefrom and hooked into a lug 55 in the hopper 53. The crank 48 on the winch 42 will then be rotated to move the hopper 53 to the position shown in Fig. 2 where it will remain during transportation of the elevator from one location to another or for storage.

The hopper 53 is preferably made with flared edges 56 to direct grain or other material down to the conveyor 57. The conveyor 57 is made up of a chain 58 having slats 59 disposed between the chain 58. The chain 58 and slats 59 slide on a bottom member 60 to move grain or other material therealong. The chain 58 is driven by the sprocket 61 and the sprocket 61 is mounted on the shaft 54. An idler sprocket 62 is mounted on a shaft 63 and suitably journalled on the sides 64 of the hopper 53. The sprocket 61 is driven by chains 65 by sprocket 66 which is suitably journalled on the frame member 67 and the sprocket 66 is preferably driven through a speed reducer 63 mounted on the base frame 67 through a belt 69 which may be driven by a motor 76 mounted on the base frame 67 or by any other external source.

The lower channel 8 has a bottom 72 whereon the conveyor chain 73 and conveyor buckets 74 slide. The upper channel 7 has a bottom 75 for the same purpose. Conveyor chain 73 passes over idler sprockets 76 mounted on bracket 77 and the bracket 77 is fixedly attached to the sides of the channel 7. Conveyor chain 73 also passes over idler sprocket 79 which is pivotally mounted on the plate 18 and over idler 40. Idler sprocket 80 is journalled in a movable block 81 and is provided with a screw 83 which is threadably engaged in the fixed block 84 and which moves the block 81 upward to move the idler sprocket 8t) and, thereby, tighten the chain 73. The chain '73 is driven by the sprocket 66. Buckets 74 are fixed at spaced locations on the chain 73 and they scoop up grain from within the arcuate base 85 in the bottom of the elevator and carry it up along the bottom of the channel members and over the top of the axle of the idler sprocket 80 through the hook 87 and dump the grain into the chute 88.

It will be noted that when the grain elevator material is emptied into the hopper 53, the slats 59 will slide the grain elevator material over the bottom 60 into the arcuate base 85. The buckets 74 will pick up the grain and carry it to the top of the elevator and dump it into chute 88 where it may be directed into a vehicle or into a corncrib, granary, or other suitable storage building or bin.

The front end 90 of the frame member 67 will be provided with a suitable hitch for attaching it to the rear end of a tractor or truck for transportation of the elevator. It will be noted that when the elevator is collapsed to the position shown in Fig. 2 and the front end 90 of the member 11 attached to a suitable truck or vehicle, the

entire weight of the elevator will be carried by the wheels 2 and the hitch 90 on the truck, thereby rendering the elevator easily portable. It will be further noted that the center of gravity of the elevator when collapsed is intermediate the axle 12 and the front end 90 of the frame member so that the elevator will have maximum stability during transportation.

The length of the channel members 7 and 8 can be increased in length for use in unloading grain into tall buildings and other similar environments.

in the foregoing specification, I have set forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but I am aware that the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which it is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claim.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

A foldable elevator comprising an upper body section and a lower body section pivotally connected together, means to hold said upper and said lower sections in alignment, said lower section being supported on an axle, said axle having a king bolt pivotally disposed therein at each end thereof, a hub integrally attached to the lower end of each said king bolt, said axle resting on said hubs, a wheel on each said hub, a lever fixedly attached to the upper end of each said king bolt and extending laterally therefrom above said axle and disposed generally perpendicular to said hubs, and a link pivotally attached to said axle on the upper side thereof holding said wheels in an unswung position, the end of said lever remote from said king bolts being attached to the distal end of said link, said remote end of said lever being adapted to be attached to the point of connection of said lever to said axle whereby said hubs with said wheels thereon are rotated in a horizontal plane from a position parallel to said axle to a position at approximately a right angle to said axle.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,165,460 Steele Dec. 28, 1915 1,810,119 Bebinger June 16, 1931 2,387,189 Steinmetz Oct. 16, 1945 2,477,790 Farr et a1. Aug. 2, 1949 

